


(it'll be like we're) Bonnie & Clyde

by Bugggghead



Series: Bughead Drabbles & One Shots [23]
Category: Archie Comics, Archie Comics & Related Fandoms, Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: Angst, F/M, Fluffy, One Shot, and gives jughead one for his birthday, betty's knows her way around a car, drabble prompt request
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-14
Updated: 2018-08-14
Packaged: 2019-06-27 05:56:09
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,720
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15679365
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bugggghead/pseuds/Bugggghead
Summary: Anonymous said:70 &/or 97 :-)“It’ll be like we’re Bonnie and Clyde!” “You do know they die in the end right?!” “Can’t you ever just let the analogy work for once?!!”“Hey calm down I’m here, I got you, slow your breathing.”





	(it'll be like we're) Bonnie & Clyde

*

  


It was supposed to be a surprise. For Jughead’s twenty first birthday she had decided to give him a car. Not just any car either. It was the same one he had picked out years ago from the junkyard, jokingly calling it his ‘dream car’ as they walked right past the depressingly stripped chassis of the 1969 Chevelle SS. A month later, she had bought it and with Archie’s help she stored it in the garage at her mother’s house. She used her father’s tools, thinking it was slightly poetic that at least some part of his influence on her life would finally bring her, and someone she loved, happiness.

  


There were a few close calls over the past few years where he almost found out. A few times when they were visiting her mother or Polly and the twins, where he would try to grab a soda from the garage. She would always jump up and offer to grab it instead, insisting he relax despite his protests.

  


As she stood in front of the opened garage, a day before his birthday, rag in her hands ready to polish the final details on the car, she hadn’t expected him to show up. He was supposed to be running errands, stocking up on snacks and whatever else he wanted to binge for his birthday. After her unwelcome attempt at a party had crashed and burned, the subsequent years consisted of them settling in for a day filled with nothing but Netflix and junk food. Which is why she had gone to the car in the first place. But before the garage could fully shut, his bike was in the driveway and an excited squeal could be heard from behind her. Something was blocking the sensor and she all but resigned herself to giving up the surprise when the door lifted again, revealing his present.

  


“Did your mom get a new car babe?” he asked with a mischievous glint in his eye.

  


“Not exactly,” she tried to evade, her body blocking what its small frame could of the vehicle in the garage; but it was all for naught.

  


“Did  _ you  _ get a new car?” He arched an eyebrow at her in question and she decided there was no use in hiding it anymore.

  


“No. It’s yours.”

  


He looked at her, then back at the car, then at her again. A smile broke across his cheeks, stretching wider than she had ever seen. She couldn’t blame him for being excited, but she was still disappointed the surprise was ruined, even though he was clearly elated.

  


He pulled his lips taut, attempting to tame his brimming smile. “This isn’t a joke, right?”

  


Betty couldn’t help but laugh, shaking her head as she said, “No. This is not a joke. Happy Birthday, Juggie.”

  


She held out the keys for him and he took them without question, wrapping an arm around her waist and crushing his lips to hers in a bruising kiss that said so much more than just ‘thank you’. They had been together for five years, living under the same roof for three, and she knew what his kisses meant. Some said ‘I love you’, others said ‘I want you’, but that one said ‘I appreciate you, I love you, and this means more than I could ever put into words’. He had kissed her like that a few times before, once after their brief break up their sophomore year, once when FP failed a drug test and went back to prison, once more when she swallowed her pride and asked her cousin for help with their bills one month they had both been tight for money. She knew his appreciation ran deep, and seeing him with the childlike excitement that came with a new car, especially one he had literally been dreaming about since he was a child, made all the late nights and early mornings she had snuck into the garage to tinker with it more than worth it. She’d do it a thousand times over, they’d be swimming in classic cars if it meant that he’d kiss her like that every single time.

  


“Can we take it for a joyride? Maybe rob a few banks while we’re at it? It’ll be like we’re Bonnie and Clyde. A car this sexy makes me want to do dangerous things.” He wiggled his eyebrows at her and she knew he was teasing, but she couldn’t help but play along.

  


“You do know they die in the end, right?”

  


“Can’t you ever just let the analogy work for once?!”

  


She giggled at that, pulling him down for another kiss before excitedly agreeing.

  


The car was meticulously restored, purring as the engine started, as perfect as it could possibly be. She had made sure of it over the last few weeks, obsessively checking every detail and ensuring it was just right. But no matter how well tuned a vehicle is, when a deer runs across the road, even the most perfectly programmed vehicle would hit it.

  


So, when the tires skid across the asphalt, and the sound of  glass shattering blew her eardrums, she never even considered being angry. Instead, she blinked her eyes, attempting to clear her vision and take stock of the situation. 

  


The car was totaled, a tree wedged firmly in the front bumper she had so meticulously restored months before. Jughead was struggling with his seatbelt, dusted in a fine white powder from the airbag, frantically attempting to free himself. He was looking between her and the belt, growing angrier with each moment that passed. His mouth was moving but she couldn’t hear the words he was saying, a high pitched whine filling her ears instead. 

  


She felt like she was in a daze, not fully processing the implications of the scene surrounding her. Upon further inspection, she realized that her clothes were coated in the same fine dust as his, her airbag deployed and now deflated as it hung from the dash. She must have been unconscious when it happened, a clear break in her memory between the shattering of the windows and her ascent back to the present. 

  


“Betty, Betty, Betty.” His voice sounded funny saying her name, as if it were a soft hum beneath the deafening squeals filling her ears. She wanted to speak, but the words weren’t coming out. She brought a hand up to her mouth, feeling the sting of the tender skin beneath her fingertips. She reached higher and felt a warm sensation with a stab of pain. When she pulled her hand back, it was bloody, and her eyes went wide as she looked back at Jughead. He finally freed himself from the confines of the seatbelt and rushed to do the same for her.

  


After releasing her belt he got out, rushing over to her side, his image blurred by the spiderweb cracks across the windshield and the persistent plumes of dark smoke rising from the engine. Before she knew it, he was throwing open her door and she could see him fully. He had a deep gash on his leg that was seeping through his jeans, trailing almost black lines down his leg. But he was focused on her, sliding an arm underneath her knees and the other behind her head as he lifted her.

  


She felt catatonic, as if she was trapped in her limp body, unable to speak, watching everything happen. It was a struggle to stay awake and she told herself she’d just close her eyes for a moment despite her breaths becoming more and more labored by the second. She vaguely heard his words of comfort as the darkness enveloped her, comforting, albeit shaky as his voice faded alongside her consciousness. 

  


“I'm here. I've got you.”

  


*

  


When she opened them again, she was met with the blinding lights of a hospital room. The ringing in her ears was replaced with the symphony of machines, their beeps echoing off the barren walls of the cramped space. When her eyes finally adjusted to the fluorescent lights, she saw him. Asleep on the little chair that she knew was horribly uncomfortable, scooted up right next to the bed. His hand was holding hers and she noticed his leg was now bandaged. While the lights in the room were bright, it was dark outside, so she figured she had to have slept for at least a few hours. 

  


Her hand twitched and his eyes shot open. As soon as he looked at her he was moving, shifting onto the bed and reaching forward to cup her cheek, his thumb stroking over the sensitive flesh. 

  


“Hey, calm down. I’m here. I’ve got you. Slow your breathing.”

  


Only when he spoke did she realize she had been panicking, her fingers curling into his palm so hard he might have bled and her chest rising and falling at a rapid rate. But as he spoke, one hand gripping hers, the other stroking her cheek, she felt herself relax into his touch.

  


He told her about the crash, about the slight swelling on her brain from the impact, about the scratches on her face from the broken glass. With each word, she felt his pain, as if reciting the events was physically hurting him, so she shushed him with a simple kiss, pouring her appreciation into it as he so often did for her.

  


“I’m sorry I wrecked the car, baby. I - I -  I’m so sorry. I feel so-”

  


She shushed him again. “Don’t be, Jug. I’ll heal, and there are other cars. As long as you’re okay, and we’re both intact, we have years to replace it. Maybe I’ll even make you help me next time.”

  


“Deal. I love you. I love you so much. I’m so sorry you’re here and you’re-”

  


“Please stop apologizing. I love you. We’ll be fine, car or not. As long as I have you, I have everything I need.”

  


She barely heard his quiet hum as she kissed him, leaning forward to place her lips against his tenderly, relishing in the comfort they always brought. After a full day of craziness she never would have anticipated, having him there, holding her, kissing her, loving her, was more than enough reassurance that they would be fine. They always were.

  


*

**Author's Note:**

> Huge thank you to my #seattlesoulmate and forever fav @nurseholliday for betaing this thing for me. LUH YOU!
> 
> Come find me on Tumblr @bugggghead!
> 
> Comments ALWAYS appreciated!


End file.
